Born of the family
Felidae, also know as Felis catus, this little one was birthed beneath
a storage shed in a stranger’s back yard. Out of a four-kitten litter, his
coloring was the lightest. He was buttery gold with neat tan stripes along
his body, like a little blonde tiger, and his tail ended with distinctive raccoon-like
rings. Hence the ‘coon’, and the ‘oro’ is Spanish for gold.
He wasn’t much
more than a handful when he came to live in our home and was, of course, the immediate
center of attention as the only baby in the house. So, we fed him up with
special baby cat food and lots of loving attention, and he seemed to grow before
our very eyes. We still remember the first time he jumped down from the living
room chair and landed without bumping his nose on the floor. We also remember
the first time he clawed his way up the bedspread to take his first nap in the middle
of our bed as well as the first time he was gently removed from the bedroom!
But the
very first time he ventured out the pet door on his own, a bigger cat chased him
right back inside! This one was the bully of the neighborhood and outweighed
our little fellow by at least ten pounds. He was tiger-striped, too, but with
the classic black and gray colors. He also had a square-looking face and broad
shoulders from scrapping with all the other cats for whatever he wanted. A
real toughie, he was. And he had decided he wanted our backyard as his own.
After that
first incident, it took several days of short, brave explorations before Coon Oro
reached the edge of the porch. We watched, every time, through the window
in the back door above the pet door. Sometimes he’d look back over his shoulder
to make sure we were watching him, too! It took a few more days for him to
venture out onto the grass. We think it tickled his feet at first because
he’d come hopping right back onto the porch.
But eventually
he became acquainted with the other cats in the neighborhood. All but one
other stray belonged in houses right there around ours, all properly cared for and
all properly ‘altered’, with each neighbor being mindful of pet population responsibilities.
Coon Oro himself was taken care of as soon as he matured enough to handle it physically.
All the
other cats learned that they could get in through the pet door, too. Our little
fellow, being newest in the neighborhood, never tried to keep any of them out.
So we learned to block the pet door, at least overnight, and then made sure to provide
the covered litter box for inside overnights.
He finally
braved it to the far end of the grass. Then he found the front yard and a
patch of dirt where he practiced dusting himself. He soon learned to dart
out of the front door whenever it was opened and then crouch out there waiting until
the door was almost closed, and if one of us put our head out and called to him,
ps-s-st, ps-s-st, he would run back inside as if being chased.
But one
afternoon no amount of calling brought the little guy running. We looked around
both yards and asked the neighbors if they had seen him. By nightfall, we
were well and truly worried. But what could we do? Just wait.
That was all. Cats wander, they explore, and they come when they’re done.
Don’t they? We hoped they did.
He came
home the next day with a dirty face and hungry urgency. So we fed him up with
special moisr food mixed with his usual crunchy, then loved and hugged him, cooed
over his adventure, and let him know he was missed.
Now, these days, Coon Oro is content to play with the babies and children we bring
into our home, and sticks his nose out the door only when we hold it open for him.
And dances with me in the kitchen.
April Rogers
